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Wednesday May 16, 2007
My Truth: No more mixed signals
Posted by Avigdor Lieberman
UN Security Council Resolution 478 of 20 August 1980 determines that the 1980 Knesset law (the "Jerusalem Law") declaring Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible" capital was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith." The resolution continued to sanction “those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City.” In recent years we have witnessed a steady decline in the status of Jerusalem as our capital (El Salvador and Costa Rica –the two last remaining diplomatic missions in Jerusalem- moved their embassies to the Tel Aviv area last year). In the latest example, EU and US diplomats boycotted a special session of Knesset celebrating 40 years of the reunification of Jerusalem on Monday. It is my belief that we have no one to blame but ourselves for this situation. The State of Israel has been soft on standing up for its right to determine its own capital and soft on negating the unscrupulous position of the international community on Jerusalem. We must stop sending mixed signals to the world. When we grant foreign embassies extraterritorial status in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, we are sending the wrong message. When we allowed east Jerusalem Arabs to vote in the Palestinian Authority legislative elections, we are sending the wrong message. Instead of reaffirming our sovereignty over Jerusalem and insisting that embassies be located in Jerusalem, we sit idly by and allow others to determine the status of our capital de-facto. From a legal standpoint, the status of Jerusalem should be the least contested between Israel and the Arabs. According to the 1947 UN partition plan, Jerusalem was supposed to be governed by "a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a corpus separatum under the administration of the United Nations." This plan was of course never implemented, due to the war declared on the newly-born Jewish State by the surrounding Arab States. And so Jerusalem - with the lack of an international regime in place - was up for grabs. The Jordanians conquered east Jerusalem and held on to it for 30 years, then we won it back. So under which double standard does the international community deem that “the enactment of the "basic law" by Israel constitutes a violation of international law”? The resolution “Decides not to recognize the ‘basic law’ and such other actions by Israel that, as a result of this law, seek to alter the character and status of Jerusalem.” The alterations to the character of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty consist of the introduction of such values as freedom of religion, freedom of movement and freedom of speech – none of which were allowed under Jordanian rule, and none will be allowed under Palestinian rule. If Bethlehem is anything to go by, quite the opposite can be expected. The international community’s positioned isn’t moral, but cowardly.
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My Truth
Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs provides his view of the current political landscape.
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Recent Comments
hamutzi:
Yosher Koach, Avigdor
It also does not go unnoticed by the Israeli public, that unlike the sometime zionists from Shas, you did not wait around to see how much more money you could extort from the nogoodniks sitting on their tucheses in the ruinous Kadima Knesset, but packed your pekalach and went, just as you said you would do, once the evidence of the sell-out of our nation became too much for you, too, to bear, like any other good and authentic Jew.
All you say of the brave folks of Gush Etzion, is absolutely true.
Happy and safe celebrations!
hamutzi
Ari - Jakarta:
Dear Mr. Lieberman,
Implement Torah's values and moral on daily lives of every Israelis. May the Great Lord and Redeemer bless Israel and keep her always.
From Indonesia.
Josh, USA:
Mr. Lieberman --- This blog entry, a transcript of the speech you gave at Nokdim, is very inspiring. I agree with every word. But, if you really believe what you say, then why do you allow the Olmert Government, which wants to give up the Etzion Block, to stay in power?!
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